A powerful explosion was heard in the southern Yemeni city of Aden on Wednesday morning, and smoke was rising near the city's international airport, a police official told Al Jazeera. Aden is controlled by Yemen's internationally recognised government.

Yemen's Houthi movement said it carried out the attack. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group fired a ballistic missile at the Saudi-led coalition's "military operation room" at the Badr Camp in Aden, and claimed the strike was "precise and direct". Al Jazeera's reporters on the ground said a missile targeted Aden International Airport on Wednesday morning. The Houthi claim has not been independently verified, and no casualties from the Aden strike had been reported by either Al Jazeera or Middle East Eye when their reports emerged.

Middle East Eye reported that the Houthis struck the coalition position after accusing Saudi Arabia of killing civilians off Yemen's coast overnight. The Sanaa-based health ministry — run by the Houthi authorities — said Saudi Arabia had targeted boats off al-Kadha, on the coast of Taiz governorate, killing eight fishermen. That claim, too, is the ministry's account and has not been independently verified; the ministry called the alleged attack a violation of international humanitarian law.

Separately, the Saudi-led coalition said four drones launched towards Saudi Arabia were intercepted and destroyed. Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said the interceptions were carried out in the Medina and Eastern regions, according to Middle East Eye's reporting of the coalition statement.

The Aden blast is the latest escalation in Yemen's re-erupted war, which has intensified alongside the wider regional conflict linked to the US–Iran war. Houthi forces and Yemen's internationally recognised government, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, have traded heavy strikes in recent weeks, and Aden's airport was also targeted in a missile attack reported earlier this month, on October 17, in which no casualties were reported at the time.

What is not yet known: whether anyone was killed or wounded in Wednesday's Aden strike, and the full extent of any damage at Badr Camp or the airport. Awaaz Punjab will update this story as verified information emerges.

Sources: Al Jazeera; Middle East Eye.